Wakefield Trinity are still trying to push through a new stadium development

Starsport can reveal Eric Timmins has been 'sounded out' about being part of the Trust Wakefield Council are in the process of forming.

Part of the Trust's role will be to mastermind the proposal to build a new £10m community stadium for the Super League outfit at their current Belle Vue home.

But club bosses and supporters are less than impressed with Timmins's potential involvement - due to his role on the board during one of the most damaging and controversial periods in Trinity's history.

Timmins was appointed Trinity's financial director in March 2000, but just seven months later the club entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in a desperate attempt to avoid going into liquidation.

According to official financial records at Companies House, the total debt of the club at the time was a crippling £2.4m.

The club owed more than £400k to Wakefield Council and almost £220,000 to the Inland Revenue.

Wakefield Trinity's new Community Stadium plans

WAKEFIELD TRINITY have confirmed they will stay in the city and plan to build a new Community Stadium at Belle Vue.

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WAKEFIELD COUNCIL

Artists' impressions of how the new Community Stadium will look

“It beggars belief that Timmins was hand picked to join the Council's new trust”

Trinity co-owner Chris Brereton

The club struck a deal to pay creditors 33 pence in the pound over a period of four years - but went bankrupt once again in 2011.

On this occasion the Inland Revenue were owed over £750,000, with the total shortfall for unsecured creditors being in excess of £1.3m.

The Council confirmed Timmins, who worked at the club throughout this period under the chairmanship of Ted Richardson, had been approached about joining the new Trust, but refused to comment on his suitability for the role.

But Trinity co-owner Chris Brereton has blasted the Council's approach to Timmins.

He told Starsport: "It beggars belief that an individual (Timmins) that was a director of the club through two periods of calamitous financial meltdown, including enormous sums of money owed to WMDC being written off, is hand picked to join the Council's new trust."

Brereton and Trinity chairman Michael Carter are both members of the original Trust formed to oversee the controversial development, which has been ongoing since 2011.

GETTY

Belle Vue is the current home of Wakefield Trinity

Brereton and Carter have been told they cannot join the new Trust because this would be deemed a 'conflict of interest'.

Phil Townsend, who is a former member of the original Trust, has rejected the Council's invitation to join the new Trust.

Brereton added: "Quite frankly, the reason that the two club directors who have steered the club forward over the last four-and-a-half years, repaying hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt run up by former directors along the way, are considered to be unsuitable is because they may influence the level of rent the club might have to pay, is utterly preposterous.

"Both myself and Michael offered to stand down from the original Trust to allow it to continue in it's current role, so why does there have to be a new Trust formed?

"We have no idea what the name of this new Trust is, and our searches have not found any trace of it actually being registered at Companies House."

A Wakefield Council spokesperson said "There is no further news as no formal agreements have been made. As soon as we have any news we will update everyone."